How to Disable Taskbar Icon Flashing in Windows 10 and Windows 11

Flashing icons on the taskbar in Windows can be distracting, especially when you’re trying to stay focused or avoid unnecessary notifications. Fortunately, Windows 10 and Windows 11 offer ways to disable these flashing icons to improve your experience. Here’s how to do it.

1. Disabling Icon Flashing Through Group Policy Editor

One way to stop taskbar icons from flashing is by using the Group Policy Editor, available in Windows Pro versions and above:

  1. Press Win + R, type gpedit.msc, and hit Enter to open the Group Policy Editor.
  2. Go to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Start Menu and Taskbar.
  3. Find the option "Turn off taskbar flashing" and double-click it.
  4. Set it to "Enabled" and click OK to save the changes.
  5. Restart your computer to apply the new settings.

After this, the icons on your taskbar should no longer flash to get your attention.

2. Using the Registry to Disable Icon Flashing

If you don’t have access to the Group Policy Editor, you can use the Registry Editor to disable taskbar icon flashing:

  1. Press Win + R, type regedit, and hit Enter.
  2. Navigate to the following registry path: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop.
  3. Look for the entry ForegroundFlashCount. If it doesn’t exist, create a new DWORD entry with that name.
  4. Double-click ForegroundFlashCount and set its value to 0 (the default is 7).
  5. Close the Registry Editor and restart your computer.

This change also disables taskbar icon flashing, helping you stay focused on your current tasks.

3. Adjusting App Notifications

If you’d prefer to limit flashing only for certain apps, you can customize notification settings for specific applications:

  1. Open Settings by pressing Win + I.
  2. Go to System > Notifications & actions.
  3. Locate the app for which you want to adjust notifications, and either disable unnecessary alerts or customize them to suit your preferences.

This method minimizes flashing icons without completely disabling them, giving you more control over your notifications.